CORINTH 1862 Siege, Battle, Occupation

In my quest to learn more about The Duncan House, it's been necessary to learn more about the history of our own city. We all know that Shiloh was fought over the railroads here in Corinth....but Corinth, alone, played a huge part in the events of the day. And here is THE book on the subject. As you can see, it's called "CORINTH 1862 Siege, Battle, Occupation". I tell you, if you are interested in our town, you NEED to read this book. It's most entertaining and enlightening and I enjoyed reading every word. We just have no comprehension of what role our City played in that era so long ago. 

Gen. Halleck, head of all the Federal forces said this:

"Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards."

The Hawk Has Landed

When we moved the house, we titled it; "The Eagle Has Landed". So, now that the infamous 'shed' has been finally been moved through the mud onto it's permanent pad, we can title it; "The Hawk Has Landed".

Exposing the Skeleton of the Duncan House

We had an interesting time viewing the 'skeleton' of the Duncan House this week.  We were searching for  clues of what the original front windows and front door(s) looked like.  It's amazing what a trained professional like Chelius Carter can reconstruct from looking 'inside' the outer skin. Original boards and timbers, nail holes, cross beams, ghost prints of all kinds can paint a vivid picture of what the house originally looked like.

Duncan House outbuilding sustains a direct hit!

A bit of bad news with the Duncan House 'shed' that we are moving. It caught a direct hit from a 6" oak limb that fell as a result of the high winds and rain we had last night. The limb penetrated the roof as well as the loft of the old building.

The shed is sitting waiting to be moved to it's new concrete pad close to the Duncan House. Brian Reese, 4th generation member of Elder House Movers that is responsible for the project, promises that he will have it moved soon, hopefully next week!

It remains to be seen if Brian will charge more to move it with the new unwanted passenger.

So, who was this W. L. Duncan that built the Duncan House?

Earliest known drawing of Mr. Duncan's home

Well, thanks to much work by my friend, Richie Burnette [now from Oxford, formerly of Corinth-with his family going back seven generations on the same block as the Duncan House], here is the biography of its first owner, Mr. W. L. Duncan.